Book 4: Keeping the Peace
by SilvrImage
Summary: The war has finally ended and the gaang must help keep the balance and peace the world has finally found but it may become a little harder than they expected. Rated T for sexually implied content. Kataang, Maiko, Sukka
1. Chapter 1: Treaties and Tempers

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, don't own Avatar the Last Airbender so I, also sadly, cannot make new episodes happen. But I can write a story! Which I'm doing!**

So this is just another multi-chaptered kataang post-war story. Just another thing all us kataang fans need to keep the fire burning. Right now it's just fluffy and happy but let's get real people, peace never lasts. Atleast not for Aang and the gaang. Time off isn't in the job description for the Avatar. The plot will thicken and it'll be good. Well, atleast I hope you'll all like it. Anyway, on with the story!

**Chapter One: Treaties and Tempers**

The war was over but the world was hardly at peace. Sure, the stress of war was a lot to deal with, but compared to how things were now, Aang couldn't tell which was worse: the stress of war or the stress of rebuilding a divided nation. The fire nation was the most difficult nation. The gaang had been staying in the fire nation making sure there were no more attempts at ruling the world. The comet had passed, relieving some of the young avatar's worries, but it has been only several weeks since the Fire Lord was defeated so, naturally, the fire nation was in complete chaos. A lot of the nation never agreed with the war to begin with while another good proportion of citizens were living through the war. Many families depended on the income of its husbands and sons at war and with the sudden amount of people needing revenue, jobs became scarce, causing somewhat of an economic depression in the fire nation.

Zuko had become the new fire lord with Iroh at his side, directing the young leader when needing direction. Running a country was tough. Running a country when you've never had any experience running one especially one on the verge of civil war was the toughest thing Zuko had done in his life. Had it not been for the aid of his uncle and the avatar, Zuko knew he'd never be able to do it. He was constantly in meetings, trying to solve the economic crisis, doing everything in his power to help his people.

The water tribe and earth kingdom had their best troops at the fire nation to aid Aang in protecting Zuko against the approaching revolution. They liked not having the fire nation controlling their countries and were willing to do anything to keep it that way, even if it meant staying away from home just that much longer.

Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki and Mai were all sitting by a turtle duck pond, carelessly throwing little pieces of bread into the small pool of water.

"Have any of you seen Aang?" Zuko said urgently entering and disrupting the calm nature of the scene before him. "We have a meeting, which you two," he said pointing at Sokka and Suki, "have to be at as well, but I can't find Aang. I've looked everywhere and he should have papers we need today. If he doesn't sh-"

"Zuko, relax." Katara said cutting him of before he went on another rampage about a missing necessary member of the council and Aang, being the avatar, was needed at every meeting. Sokka was a representative of the water tribe, Suki was a representative of the earth kingdom and Zuko was obviously the main representative of the fire nation. Katara had allowed Sokka the honor of representing the tribe over her because she knew how much it meant to Sokka to be involved in those sorts of associations. Toph was obviously offered a position in the peace council but reading long, complicated peace treaties and signing off on what she agreed with, wasn't really her thing so Suki took over instead.

"Have you looked by the beach?" Suki asked. "I've seen him out there a couple times."

"Like I've told you, I looked everywhere and I can't find him," Zuko said impatiently. He was always impatient and quick tempered, but with the stress of running a nation on his shoulders, he rarely seemed anything but irritated and swift tempered.

Katara got up slowly to help Zuko look for Aang; she always had this nag for knowing where to find him. She searched a little around the palace, checking mainly outdoor locations but decided that he was probably inside after seeing no trace of him anywhere outside. She headed for his room and softly knocked twice on the closed door to his room before opening the door and letting herself in. Sure enough Aang was sitting in his room at the small desk in the corner of the room which was profusely littered with papers. It was typical of Zuko to look over the idea that Aang might be in his own room. Aang was leaning over a pile of parchments with his head resting in his hands. Katara walked across the room and put a hand on Aang's back which caused him to jump so high he nearly fell out of his chair.

"What?! Katara – oh, hi. I didn't hear you come in," he said in a tired voice before turning back to the papers on the desk.

"Zuko's looking for you, are you ok?" she added in a concerned voice seeing how tired he really was.

"Huh? Oh, yea, I'm fine. What's Zuko want?" He asked, stress beginning to build as he figured it would be more papers he needed to read over and sign off on.

"He's trying to find you because the meeting's about to start," she said seeing him tense up at this news.

"What? It's about to start? What time is it?" he asked looking around the room before forcing himself to once again focus on the papers before him, grabbing certain papers and putting them in piles.

"Aang, are you sure you're ok?" Katara asked feeling more worried by the moment.

"No! I have to finish reading all these papers and sign off on all of these before the meeting starts," he said running his hands through his hair which had grown back during the past few weeks. Aang barely had time to breathe let alone take the time to shave. "And I don't even know what this means!" he added in frustration, slamming his hands down on the table, upsetting several papers, sending them falling to the ground.

"It's ok, just calm down. How much more do you need to do?" Katara asked putting a comforting hand on his shoulder which seemed to slightly relax him.

"Uhm…just this," he said holding up a couple papers in one hand, "and this," he finished holding up several more in his other hand.

"Ok, let's see," she said taking the papers from him and setting them on her lap, "'All disputes which might arise in future on the subject of the boundaries of the said nations may be prevented; it is hereby agreed and declared, that –' hmm…I guess that just means each nation is agreeing to respect each others boundaries, that's agreeable," Katara noted while continuing to read out loud and translate into understandable words.

"Why can't they just say it like that to begin with," Aang said in an exasperated voice once they had finally finished the papers in half the time it would have taken him without Katara's help. Katara laughed and Aang cracked his first smile in days. "And thanks Katara," Aang added once her laughter had died. "You always know how to make me feel better."

Katara smiled and leaned over kissing him softly on the lips causing him to blush before he got up and headed to the door with her close behind. Aang had always loved Katara and had always showed obvious signs of his fondness towards her but only recently had Katara began to return the affection. She had always known deep down that she felt something more than just the feeling of friendship but in self defense, she had always pushed the idea out of her head and ignored the feelings she had for him. She had already lost her mother to the war and felt that if she let herself give into the idea of loving Aang, she'd only fall harder if he didn't come back from fighting Ozai.

Aang was still getting used to the fact that Katara actually liked him back. He often still blushed around her and acted clumsily but Katara just thought it was cute; it showed how much he really thought about her and cared about how he looked in front of her.

The two walked towards the fire lord's, or Zuko's, chamber where the meeting was about to begin. Aang entered through the drapes embroidered with the fire nation insignia while Katara waited in the courtyard for the meeting to be finished.

Inside the chamber, fuming earth bending high ranking generals fought over different ways in which the fire nation should pay for the destruction and pain it caused. Aside from the fire nation, the earth kingdom was probably the most aggressive people and it didn't help that even including the fire nation, they were the most proud of all the nations.

"We should take their land!" an angry General Makoto interjected, obviously unsatisfied with the arrangements the other nations had agreed on.

"No, that's just doing exactly what the past three fire lords have been doing to us," Hakota cut in. "It seems a little hypocritical to suggest the idea," he said rather harshly. They had been discussing the same thing for weeks and tempers were running high.

"Then how will we make them pay? The ones responsible for the last 100 years of suffering should receive punishment!" the general stated once again.

"But you don't understand! The people responsible for the war _are_ paying for it. A lot of these people didn't want anything to do with the war and most of their soldiers were forced into the army. Taking away their land or their rights won't solve anything. It'll just worsen our problems." Aang yelled in frustration. He understood that the victims of war wouldn't want to quickly forgive their enemy but most of the other earth kingdom generals and all the water tribe warriors representing their tribes were able to at least understand where he was coming from.

Several hours and many arguments later the meeting was adjourned. The sky was darkening and the stars were beginning to pop up behind the clouds that partly covered the vast sky. Aang emerged from the chamber feeling exhausted but slightly relieved. Katara approached Aang asking how the meeting went.

"Better than usual I guess," he replied in an optimistic tone. "We might have gotten somewhere today. But at least I don't have any homework this time," he added smiling in a cheerful manner.

"Come on, let's go sit down somewhere and relax. You need it," she added remembering his near break down before the meeting. He smiled in response, relishing the idea of spending time with Katara and not talking about how to fix the damaged world.

The two began walking in no general direction. Katara grabbed Aang's hand causing him to smile and blush fiercely. Soon, their feet took them to the beach where they sat close together, enjoying each other's company. Due to Aang's status as the avatar, he was needed almost all the time by someone. He hardly had time for anything and he missed spending most of his time with Katara; this alone time was hard to come by and he couldn't help but thank the spirits for it: it was just what he needed.

Katara leaned her head on Aang's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. They sat in silence, listening to the breeze of the ocean and feeling the spray of the waves on the exposed parts of their skins. Katara lifted her head looking at Aang who looked back at her. He looked softly into the icy pools of blue that were her eyes, feeling his heart soften at the beautiful sight before him; he could look at her forever.

* * *

Mai waited outside the chamber for Zuko, watching general after general leave before finally Zuko, who was last to depart, exited through the curtains, greeting her with a tired smile.

"How long have you been waiting?" Zuko asked her, wondering how long the meeting actually had dragged on for.

"Not long, a couple minutes, 20 tops," she replied falling into step with him, following wherever Zuko was planning to go next.

He merely nodded in reply. He was exhausted and tense but glad Mai had waited for him. She was always his source of relaxation. She complimented every element of him as he did for her. When he was hot headed and angry, her calm, composed nature always balanced and lulled his rage and when she was careless, his temperament gave her the passion to show emotion.

The couple found its way to the turtle duck pond which Mai was keenly fond of. She asked the question that Zuko knew was coming: "So, how'd it go?"

"It's frustrating representing the nation that everyone hates," he replied shortly. "All that the earth kingdom generals are concerned about is what way to punish the fire nation. How am I supposed to convince these people that they can trust us? I'm not my father's son. I have no desire to take over the world! I don't even like running one country!" he shouted in frustration, scarring several newly hatched turtle ducks away to hide behind their mother.

Mai scooted closer to Zuko, putting her hand on his shoulder to calm him. "It's just going to take time for people to get used to the idea of peace. Trust is hard to come by but you'll earn it one step at a time. You're a great leader, Zuko, don't start to doubt yourself."

He looked up, meeting her gaze and smiling at the support and comfort Mai was possible of giving him. He knew he could do anything with her at his side.

* * *

Suki left the chamber closely followed by Sokka. She yawned and stretched, walking along side Sokka who followed suit.

"Rough meeting," she said passively.

"Yea, I know," Sokka agreed before whipping his hand up to his face, covering the side of his mouth so only Suki could see his lips and hear what he had to say, "You know, your nation has some mean guys, I mean that General Makoto guy looked about ready to take over the fire nation himself."

Suki laughed softly and rolled her eyes. It was possible that the general was feeling more personally hurt by the fire nation due to the fact that he had recently lost his son in the war. It was true that other people too were affected by death, but time had allowed said persons a bit more healing time than the angry general. They knew he would calm down eventually.

The pair headed towards the wing of the palace where their rooms were. They stopped outside of Suki's room and Sokka bade her a swift goodnight kiss and turned quickly before giving into the urge of following Suki into her room. But before he took two steps, Suki grabbed the collar of his shirt and he was quickly sucked into the room and the door was slammed behind them, leaving the hallway quite empty.

* * *

Toph sat alone in the darkness of her room. She felt Sokka and Suki approaching and starting to go their separate ways until Suki decided otherwise. She got up and flung herself carelessly onto her bed. She didn't care to know what else they would be doing by now. She felt frustrated and angry but she didn't know why. She always seemed so independent and careless around the others, caring only about herself and what had to do with her. She rarely acted concerned in others' affairs and whenever she actually cared to hear what someone had to say, she knew how to sound convincingly indifferent. She never felt like she needed anyone before so why was she now becoming so upset by Sokka's affairs.

She turned over, laying on her stomach, holding her pillow while hot, frustrated tears stained the yellow pillow case she was hiding her face in. She seemed to be the only one left who was without a significant other these days although that part didn't bother her; she was just angry with the fact that Sokka was happy with or without her. She felt alone and forgotten.

* * *

The sky was getting darker by the minute and the moon was slowly encasing the world in her soft bluish glow. Aang and Katara were looking contently into each others eyes, smiling and blushing slightly. Katara moved forward slowly, closing most of the small gap left between them, before Aang finished the job, meeting her lips with his own. She brought up her hands to rest on his face while he held her close, wrapping his arms warmly around her waist and drawing her closer to him. They continued this way while seconds rolled into minutes. Katara broke the kiss to catch her breath when they both realized upon opening their eyes that it was getting rather late.

"It's getting late and you need to rest," Katara said while getting up and helping Aang to his feet as well who answered with a simple "ok" and only remembering how tired he really was once Katara mentioned the idea of rest and how welcoming it sounded.

The happy couple walked quietly back to the palace holding hands. They weren't sure how late it was or who was up. They walked past the turtle duck pond which Zuko and Mai were sitting together at, deep in conversation so they hurried past not wanting to intrude or ruin the moment. They reached the deserted hall and after reaching the door to her room, Katara turned to face Aang, hoping she'd get a kiss goodnight which she graciously received almost immediately. Aang retreated, leaving her wanting more. He smiled at her, satisfied with her reaction, and turned to head to his own room which was conveniently located next door to Katara's. He reached his room and entered it soundlessly. The desk and floor around it were strewn with papers and important documents. He quickly organized the papers, smiling fondly at the memory of Katara patiently helping him through the frustrating work, before settling into bed and being lulled softly off to sleep by the thought of Katara.

**So that was the first chapter! Please please review. All you writters out there know how motivating it is to recieve reviews so if you liked it, please say so! If you didn't, please say so nicely! haha :)**

**Now...REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Retired

**Disclaimer: I still don't own it!**

On with the story!

**Chapter Two: I'm Retired**

_The child of Aang was sitting alone on a misty balcony overlooking an abandoned temple. The rain was pouring down but Aang still sat outside while everyone else had retreated to the comfort of shelter. It was Gyatso that had found the young airbender sitting alone and welcoming the feeling of rain. _

"_Aang, why don't you come inside before you catch a cold," the monk suggested probably too late. _

"_I won't get sick, I never get sick!" the child stated happily, not wanting to leave the balcony now. The rain soothed him in a way. It reminded him of something that he couldn't put his finger on. _

_Gyatso was eventually able to coax the young airbender into coming inside for the rest of the evening which, much to the child Aang's surprise, concluded in a fever and a sore throat. Unsurprisingly, he was unable to sleep, and Gyatso, being the parent figure Aang never had, was there to sooth his unease. _

"_I'll tell you a story, young one, that is as old as the spirits themselves. When the world began, four spirits roamed the vast world, seeking purpose and life. Aillirame (eye-leer-uh-may) was the beautiful spirit of the breeze. She flowed freely through the earth singing her hallow song of self pity and loneliness. She was the element of air itself and being so, had no companion. She decided one day that she would take another form: the form of a human. She knew that she could be killed and was unsure of what would happen to her element if she were to die so she sealed all her power inside the ancient air artifact and hid it in the sky so no one could find it and use its awesome power. Eventually, the three other spirits followed suit, unable to find purpose in being immortal and impartial, sealing their legendary powers deep within their elements until one man discovered the four elemental relics. He released their unworldly powers, possessing the power to control not only the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air but a partial immortal life and thus the first bender, and avatar, was born. The man knew that this power in the wrong hands could become destructive beyond his imagination but also that these elements should belong to more than just himself. He decided to seal the ability to manipulate air in the gentle bison, the ability to control earth to the blind and meek badger moles, the power to direct fire to the majestic dragons, and the gift to bend water to the beautiful moon. He knew that only the humblest souls would consider learning these abilities from the animals that the world considered lowly or the moon which they considered distant and cold, which was his way of sharing the unique power while controlling who was able to harness it. Many people say the avatar hid the relics once again, making sure no one could find them, but whispers of their whereabouts pop up every now and then only to be hushed by the wind, or silenced by the earth. Many jealous and ungifted non-bending people have searched the world, throwing their lives away, looking for the mysterious relics in hope of receiving the power and control benders are gifted with, but none have succeeded." Gyatso smiled as the young boy merely gasped in awe, too full of questions to think of the right one to ask. Was it true? Did such a thing exist? But the image began fading quickly._

* * *

The morning began, distinguishing the stars and coloring the world in a hazy pink glow as the sun conquered the moon for the sky. Aang woke up trying to push the dream to the back of his mind. He had been having the same reoccurring dream since he defeated the fire lord. He somehow felt that the story Gyatso told him as a child was a watered down version of real history and he feared that only taking away Ozai's bending might not have been good enough. He worried that he knew where the fire relic was or heard whispers of its whereabouts and he feared that Ozai would somehow regain his fire bending, returning to once again try and rule the world. But that was impossible. He was locked away and he was never getting out. The idea was absurd. So he pushed it out of his mind.

He found his spirits lifting as he let the memory from the previous night wash over him. No meetings today; no paper work. Hopefully he would be able to spend the day with Katara. He jumped out of bed landing softly on his feet. He quickly got dressed into his air nomad attire, which complimented the nature of his stature, before exiting his room and heading towards the dinning hall. He was still getting used to the fact that breakfast, lunch, and dinner were always made for him. He kept forgetting that he didn't need to get an early start to go buy for find food.

He entered the exquisitely elegant room to find Zuko already sitting down facing away from the door eating toast with fire berry jam. It seemed he was the only other one awake so early. Aang sat across from him, startling the young fire lord who hadn't heard him come in.

"Good morning!" Aang chimed cheerfully, smiling warmly at the warm sun peeking through the eastern windows.

"If you say so," Zuko replied flatly. Aang's smile slightly faded but he said nothing more, figuring nothing he said would be helpful anyway. He never had a way with words. The stress Aang was feeling was probably nothing compared to Zuko's. He couldn't figure out how to make everyone happy. He felt frustrated and angry with his nation who seemed only half heartedly willing to cooperate with their new fire lord. The nation had been told the young price was a traitor, scheming and plotting the demise of the fire nation so they hardly felt comfortable with him in power. The lower classes, which were most of the nation, supported the end of the war, but the few and powerful upper class citizens felt angry about how little they had control over now. High ranking officials held no power in the new era of peace. However it was the voices of these few but wealthy citizens Zuko heard.

Aang reached for a cup of fruit which looked much more appealing to him than the trays of assorted breakfast meat next to it. Sokka was pleased to find out his first day at the palace that, yes, it was possible to eat meat for not only dinner, but breakfast and lunch as well. Aang tipped the contents of the cup into a napkin while grabbing a couple slices of bread which he carried outside to the turtle-duck pond. He was exceptionally fond of the shy, little creatures and felt that the morning was too beautiful to pass up being cooped up indoors.

Aang sat at the edge of the pond beckoning kindly to the shy little animals who almost forgot their bashful nature at the sound of Aang's soft voice, daring to swim into touching distance from the young avatar. He broke the bread into small pieces, dropping it in front of the young turtle-ducklings who ate it quickly and greedily, leaving no pieces behind. Aang ate his fruit, smiling at the nature of the animals before him. For being such shy creatures, they sure weren't shy about eating.

The sun was rising higher in the sky now beginning to shine over the roof that had been shading Aang for the past 20 or so minutes he had spent sitting at the pond. Mai had walked up behind Aang causing the turtle-ducklings to begin to retreat into the safety of the middle of the pond but ceasing to do so once they heard and recognized the sound of her voice. She, like Aang, had received their trust.

"You're up early," she said in her usual monotonous tone, sitting down next to the young airbender. He merely smiled in response. He knew Mai was going to bring up something of importance because she always used that tone while stating the obvious before plunging into something that had meaning behind it. Seeing his positive reaction as encouragement to continue, she sighed, taking time to figure out how to word what she wanted to say correctly. She wanted to ask Aang to help Zuko somehow, to side with him in meetings and possibly sway the other nations into an agreement that didn't end in taking fire nation land or rights. She opened her mouth to speak but wasn't quite sure how to ask, so she closed it instead, getting up and muttering something about getting some breakfast. Aang just watched her as she walked off, a look of confusion clear on his face. He felt like he must have missed something.

* * *

Katara woke up as the sun settled itself comfortably in the middle of her window. She sat up and stretched, feeling rejuvenated and excited about the possibilities today held. Aang had his first day off in weeks and she was going to take advantage of as much of it as possible.

Katara left her room and began walking down the hall when the door to Suki's room opened and out walked Sokka who, upon seeing his sister, quickly turned back towards Suki yelling loudly, "Yeaaa…good morning Suki! I just came to wish you good morning and that's all. So, good morning," he yelled before shoving her back in her room and slamming her door shut and nearly running towards the dinning hall in embarrassment.

Katara wasn't quite sure how to feel about what she'd just seen. She wasn't born yesterday but the thought of her brother – and there went her appetite. She decided to pretend she didn't see what had just happened and go find Aang instead. She walked outside and watched as Mai get up and walked towards the dinning hall leaving a puzzled looking Aang behind. Katara took the spot Mai had just left next to Aang and asked what that was all about.

"I dunno," Aang said sounding genuinely confused, "she seemed like she was about to ask me something but just got up and left instead," he finished still looking in the direction Mai had gone even though she was no longer visible. After a moment he shook off whatever had just happened – or failed to have happened – and turned, smiling at Katara. "Good morning," he said brightly, fully appreciating the presence of someone else who might agree with the statement. She smiled, confirming his assumption, and returned the greeting.

"Did you sleep well?" Aang asked, although judging by the good mood she seemed to be in, he didn't need to ask.

She stretched, smiled, yawned, and nodded and Aang laughed asking, "Oh, did you only just wake up? Did you eat yet?"

Katara mused over how to answer the latter question and settled on just saying that she wasn't hungry this morning and Aang didn't question her further.

The two debated over all the things they should do today with all the free time they had together, when a servant approached the two, apologizing for interrupting the conversation.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Avatar Aang, but you are needed in the fire lord's chamber immediately," he said while bowing in respect to the young man.

"But – wait! Today's supposed to be my day off," Aang said, disappointment clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry Sir but I am only the messenger," he said bowing again.

Aang sighed, giving Katara an apologetic look mixed with sincere discontent, and rose from his comfortable stop next to Katara to begin heading towards the peace chamber.

"You are needed as well, Lady Katara," the servant said, causing Katara and Aang to exchange quizzical looks. Katara wasn't a representative so why was she needed for this meeting?

* * *

After recovering from the shock of being shoved back into her room, Suki made her way to the dinning hall where she knew she would find Sokka and sure enough, Sokka was happily shoveling down all food in arms reach. Suki sat down across from him, amazed by how much the warrior could eat without gaining a pound.

"What was that all about?" Suki asked, obviously referring to getting her own door slammed in her face.

"Whut wush whut bouh?" Sokka said with more food in his mouth than Suki thought possible.

"I'm sorry?" she said understanding Sokka as well as if he was speaking a foreign language.

Sokka swallowed everything in his mouth at once, nearly choking in the process, and repeated himself: "What was what about?"

Suki laughed at his inability to remember beyond the span of a couple minutes but decided to just let it go as Sokka just acting weird as he always did. That's why they meshed so well; Suki was easy going enough to accept all of Sokka's special personality traits, like his overbearing sarcasm and his inability to cope in the world without meat.

Sokka continued eating once he realized she wasn't going to say anything else about the matter when a servant entered the hall, delivering the same news to Sokka and Suki that Katara and Aang had just received. So they too headed off towards the fire lord's chamber.

* * *

Toph woke up feeling almost as bad as when she had fallen asleep. She opened her unseeing eyes but didn't get out of bed for a while. She wasn't hungry and she didn't feel like facing all the happy couples this early in the morning. She finally settled on the fact that she was bored at the palace which was why she was letting her emotions get so out of control. She had nothing to take her mind off of the things that bugged her and nothing to take her frustration out on. Before, they had always had a mission on which she could focus on, but there was nothing for her to do around here.

Suddenly, her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a set of knocks on her door which startled her. She wasn't used to not knowing who was at the door before they knocked.

"Who is it?" Toph said rather rudely.

The servant announced his name and why he was disturbing her so early in her room. Toph told him he could enter so he let himself in, bowing deeply, even though she could not see it, before giving her the news he had to deliver.

"You are needed in the fire lord's peace chamber," he told her simply as she picked herself off her bed and landed roughly on the floor. She thanked the servant, hardly sounding thankful at all, and changed into her green dress which she wore now that she didn't have to worry about fighting all the time and headed to the chamber to see what Zuko could want with her. She wasn't sure why he'd need her; she wasn't a representative and didn't know about anything that had been going on in the meetings the past few weeks.

She entered the chamber to find Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Zuko, and only a few other important feeling fire nation persons. She was wondering what this meeting could be about if the other earth kingdom and water tribe representatives hadn't been invited to it. The peace chamber, which was renamed so after the war was over due to the fact that 'war chamber' might be imposing the wrong idea, was a large, dark room that seemed to glow a sinister shade of red. In the middle of the chamber, a large map of the world resided on the floor and the members of the meetings sat around the map, always using it as a reference when necessary. It was ironic that now, however, it was being used as a source for plotting new trade routes and boundaries whereas only a few weeks prior, it was being used to plot the demise of the entire world.

Once Zuko realized everyone he asked for was there, he began without hesitation to inform the gaang on why they had been summoned.

"We have a problem," Zuko began already causing tension to build itself inside the small crowd of his friends before him, "my father escaped from prison last night with the help of several guards who apparently remained loyal to him." At this news almost everyone in the room gasped in shock but Toph had decided this was no big deal.

"So what? Twinkle Toes took away his bending already so how big of a threat could he be?" she said deciding this was not news worthy of getting her out of bed.

Aang had a vague idea what might have been coming next and feared the worst.

"He might have a way of getting it back," Zuko said, unsurprised to see that Aang wasn't shocked at all by this news like everyone else. "You knew that could happen didn't you?" he said causing everyone to look at Aang.

"I had a feeling, but I always figured the story of the elemental relics were just a child's bedtime story. I didn't know people actually thought they existed," he said in defense, feeling that Zuko would be angry for not informing him on this important information. Aang saw the looks of confusion everyone else in the room had so he plunged into the story he knew so well.

Once everyone was more properly informed about the seriousness of the situation, Zuko took the stand again: "So what are we going to do about it?" he asked in general to anyone who had any idea of what they could do.

"It looks like we have a new mission," Toph said acting unconcerned but relishing the idea of leaving the palace and having something to do.

"Alright!" Sokka yelled jumping into the air, "Team avatar is back! Again!"

"Wait a minute," Aang said, realizing the major fault in the plan that everyone else seemed to have conveniently overlooked, "we're in the middle of rebuilding this nation. I can't walk out on them to chase Ozai around for a while."

"Actually, Aang, I think you need to. Once the word gets out that he escaped, the world might panic, and it would help calm their nerves to know the avatar is out to stop him again." Zuko said calmly. "I'll have to stay here but you five need to go and keep the peace."

The five exchanged looks of uncertainty and excitement. Sokka missed the old days and Katara had to admit that she was getting really bored around the palace. Toph was thrilled but she wouldn't let anyone in on that piece of information and Aang just savored the idea of no more paper work. It seemed a new adventure was on their hands. Team Avatar was coming out of its short lived retirement.

* * *

Ok so I need your opinions on this now. I really want Zuko to come along for the adventure but if you all think it's too unrealistic, I'll keep him at the fire nation. In his place I was going to have Iroh take over for a while, he seems more than capable of discussing how to maintain peace and balance. So let me know what you guys think.

**Wow! Thank you so much to all my reviewers!** It's so great to get reviews and it's extremely motivating as well!

**Aangsgirl, Jade Elephants, alexapuppyeyesjohn, melissita, ilovekataang, Jeni27****:** thank you all so much! I hope you all liked this chapter as much as the first one.

**SJthesupergirl:** thank you, yea it's never really clear in the show if Toph has a full blown crush for Sokka or not, but I've just decided that she's shown enough signs of at least a little crush. I'm figuring out who would be a good pair for her because she's such an independent character because I don't want her to be all alone! Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas on a possible match for her. I'd love to hear your ideas.

**Lady K2:** thank you, I've been reading a lot of stories that don't incorporate how devastated the fire nation would be after the war so I figured I'd stick that in there to make it a little more realistic and less like a happy fairy tale ending.

**Ranger of the Valley:** thank you. When a character becomes OOC, it's the most annoying thing to have to read so I try hard to keep them in character. I don't know exactly how many more chapters there will be but I'm pretty sure there will be somewhere around a lot. haha

Oh, and by the way, **REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3: Enlightenment

**Ok! so here's chapter three, sorry it's so short but just read and review it anyway!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it...yet.**

**PLEASE READ A/N AT VERY END. IT'S SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT.**

**Chapter 3: Enlightenment**

"Actually, Aang, I think you need to. Once the word gets out that he's escaped, the world might panic, and it would help calm their nerves to know the avatar is out to stop him again." Zuko said calmly. "I'll have to stay here but you five need to go and keep the peace."

Iroh suddenly spoke from the left of Zuko causing several of the gaang to jump. They hadn't even realized his presence until he spoke. "No, Zuko, I think you should go too," Iroh said, not bothering to beat around the bush. "If the fire nation sees that you are trying to stop Ozai from regaining control, it might build not only your nation's trust but the trust of the other nations as well. I can handle everything here," he finished, answering the question he knew Zuko would ask.

Zuko looked around, shooting an inquiring gaze to each of his friends that asked if he was welcome. He hardly needed an answer though.

"Were not a team without you, Zuko," Katara answered, knowing Zuko was still skeptical of how concrete his acceptance was within the group. He knew _he_ wouldn't have trusted himself so easily. It warmed his heart to know he was welcome among them and knowing Katara was the one to voice it made it seem so much more solid in his mind's eye. She had been the least friendly and the most cynical of the group when he first joined and knowing she felt his presence was important to the group meant more than she could probably know.

"So, do we even know where to start? Where do we go first?" Aang asked worried they wouldn't begin to know where to go.

"Well, there was always this fire nation children's story that spoke of a feather of the phoenix which fell into a volcano and never burned. The story says that the feather was more powerful than the boiling volcano and would never be burnt because the bird which it fell from could bear the heat of the hottest fire and rise from its ashes. It's supposed to teach kids that fire can burn you only if you're too weak to let it," Zuko said, saving a significant amount of bitterness for the last comment. He'd obviously been taught so and remembering it was unfavorable.

"But what it's really doing is telling us where we're going to find what we need. Do you think Ozai knows it's in a volcano then? Do you know _what_ volcano?" Aang inquired.

"He probably does, and I think I have an idea of what volcano," Zuko said, recollecting the story and trying to remember which volcano was mentioned. "Mount Keihatsu. That's the volcano it talked about in the story. That's where we should go first," Zuko finished, finally recalling the name of the volcano and sending the group into a meditative silence, minds all wandering on the same thing.

* * *

The afternoon arrived in a cool breeze, softly blowing the orange and brown leaves across the stone ground. Autumns in the fire nation were comfortably warm once the dead summer heat had passed. The gaang was packing anything and everything they might need. This trip would be a lot more comfortable and a lot less stressful than the gaang's many months of camping while running from the fire nation. This time they would be taking a boat so there would be plenty of room for not only the necessities but the unique knick-knacks each member treasured as well.

The day was young but the gaang decided it would leave the next dawn so they wouldn't have to be traveling at night, giving them plenty of time to reach almost any given destination.

Aang didn't have much to pack. Being raised by monks, he was taught that the idea of worldly attachments to material possessions was childish and impractical. He had the essentials, such as his bison whistle and glider, and wasn't sure if he should take his air nomad robes. Seeing as how fighting was again going to be very possible, a change of wardrobe was in order. Aang wore a sleeveless yellow shirt with thick orange stitches down the middle which kept the shirt sealed. The shirt had an orange collar and was tucked in by an orange belt, much like his old nomad attire. He wore lose brown pants which tucked neatly into his boots just below the knee. Zuko had his tailors make him new clothes for the occasion but try as he might to make them as air-bendy as possible, it still had its few fire nation quirks, such as the strip of orange cloth that was part of his belt that hung to just above his knees and the fact that his shirt was sleeveless. But Aang just felt that it was thoughtful of Zuko to even tell his tailors to make it some way which might be more appealing and comfortable to Aang. He was grateful for Zuko's consideration.

Aang's wandering mind jumped back to reality when he heard a few hard knocks on the door; it was Sokka asking if he had anything ready to go out on the boat and that they were almost done packing everything they needed onto the boat and finally that they would be having an early dinner, much to Sokka's pleasure, so that they could get to bed early and get an early start the following morning. Aang nodded and said he had nothing on which note Sokka turned and went to Katara's room where he heard Sokka deliver the same message.

Aang laid on his bed, lost in thought. Everything had happened so quickly: the news of the fire lord's escape, the confirmation of Aang's fear of the existence of the relics. He wasn't sure it had fully hit him yet.

* * *

Katara had finished putting everything she might need on the boat and was told it was about time for dinner. She headed off towards the dinning hall and entered to find Sokka, Suki, Zuko, Toph and Aang already there. She saw Aang sitting with his back to her and smiled fondly at his new attire.

"I like your new clothes," she said genuinely. She liked the style of the fire nation and was glad his new look had a little of that flare in it.

Aang turned to meet her gaze when his mouth dropped in awe of Katara's beauty. She was wearing clothes similar to her old fire nation clothes but these were much more suitable for fighting and much more water tribe looking. She wore a blue top much like the red one she wore for so long while hiding out on the fire nation. Her shirt wrapped over the top of her left shoulder and tied together just above and to the right of her belly button, exposing her stomach and lower back. Her light blue skirt flowed to just above her knee caps and, like her water tribe attire, had two slits up the sides. She wore short, dark blue shorts under her skirt, revealing a lot of her legs. The look suited her well and Aang's expression upon seeing it was proof enough. She laughed at his reaction and sat down between him and Toph.

"You look great, Katara," Aang said still in shock at how beautiful she looked. She merely smiled in response.

The group had dinner in an almost reverent silence. None of them felt conversation was necessary as they did at most meals. All thoughts were elsewhere at the time being. When Aang had finished he soundlessly got up and left for his room again. He hadn't bothered to say goodnight because he assumed no one would hear him anyway. His feet led him routinely back to his room where he was startled to see himself at already. He entered and sat on his bed thinking of everything he hadn't stopped thinking about the entire day. What would happen if Ozai got his fire bending back? Would he be able to defeat him again? This time would he have to kill him? Or was there some way he could destroy the relics? But was that wise? The questions seemed to roll over him like endless waves over a beach, washing in new questions and taking out the old to be washed in again several waves later. His thoughts were interrupted once again by several knocks on the door. This time though, it was Katara.

She cracked the door open and peaked her head in, wondering if it was ok to come in. Aang smiled welcomingly to her, cueing her to enter his empty room.

"It almost seems more normal to be going back out there and doing something again, you know? But who knows how long it'll be before we get alone time again," Katara said walking towards Aang who was smiling at the thought he knew they were both sharing.

"I know," he said playfully, going along with her excuse to why they should be alone in his bedroom, "it might be weeks."

She crossed the room and sat on Aang's bed, looking deep into his eyes. She leaned in and kissed him passionately, moving her hands up to rest around his neck. Aang wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer and further deepening their kiss. After several moments, Katara pushed Aang back and laid on top of him. She reached for his collar and began tugging at it softly. Aang began to comply but stopped himself with all the will power he had and broke free from the kiss.

"Katara," he said while trying to catch his breath, "hang on." They both sat up and Katara looked at him with concern, worried she had almost taken it too far. "I just think we should wait. I don't know if we're ready," he said not sure how else to go about saying it. She smiled and hugged him which was the last thing he expected her to do.

"It's good to know at least one of us has self control," she whispered softly in his hear before pulling away to look lovingly into his eyes. He smiled, blushing slightly, and was glad he'd made the right decision. She kissed Aang softly on the lips and got up slowly walking towards the door leaving him wanting more as he did to her just the night before. "Now get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us," she said leaving and softly closing the door behind her.

* * *

**So there you go, a lot of people wanted Zuko to go too so I got Zuko in there and I made a good enough excuse to make the story believable that he's there. (ps. I wanted Zuko to go too so I'm glad we've all agreed that he should be there :) )**

**Sorry the chapter was so short. I was going to merge this day and the next day but I decided that the day they leave will be a pretty long chapter so I had to just cut it off here in order to update in a timely manner.**

**Also, thank you so much to all my reviewers! You guys have had so many wonderful things to say and it just makes it that much easier to update when so many people are so supportive. I'd love to keep individually thanking each of you but there are too many to keep going back and forth typing out all your names, not that I am complaining at all though!**

**Just a side note, Keihatsu (the name of the volcano) means enlightenment if you were wondering where i got the chapter title from**

**Semi-Important A/N:**

**As you can see this story hasn't been updated in several months. I'm sorry to say that it's been dropped. With the absence of new episodes, I've sort of lost interest in Avatar. I was going to replace this chapter with the notice of dropping the story but I've decided to just add it to the end. Sorry if I've disappointed anyone terribly. The story wasn't that far yet so it shouldn't be a big deal.**

**If anyone wants to adopt it, feel free to please let me know!**


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